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Screenprint-style illustration of a faceless player's legs at night, with garnet, blue and gold echoes of the same stride trailing behind as the boot hooks the ball, while a chalk curve carries the pass toward a teammate near the goal under the floodlights.

No. 9 · 18 October 2026

Nine from nine at La Cartuja

Eric García is out for three to four weeks and Jules Koundé misses Paris, and the Femení lost in Liga F for the first time this season, at Real Sociedad.

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Writing about Barça in English since 2009. One dispatch after each round of matches: five topics, the men's team and the Femení, nothing in between.

  1. 01MatchBarça's record-equalling start looked easy only after the red cardBarça's record-equalling start is real, and the Betis match showed what it costs: two goals conceded against eleven men, one from a corner and one two minutes after going 3–1 up. A two-goal lead only held after a red card, and nobody should plan on Paris or Madrid providing another.
  2. 02MatchYamal's second half hid a first half Barça must fixLamine Yamal made two goals in 186 seconds and Barça won 4–1 at Galatasaray, which covered for a first half in which they lost control. That half is what Hansi Flick has to fix before Paris.
  3. 03SquadBarça go to Paris with their back line stretched thinEric García is out for three to four weeks, Jules Koundé misses Paris and Andreas Christensen is still injured, which leaves Barça short of defenders. Raphinha's return helps in attack, and the question for Hansi Flick is who plays where.
  4. 04FemeníFirst league defeat still leaves the Femení two points clearThe Femení lost a Liga F match for the first time this season, 2–1 at Real Sociedad, and they still lead the table by two points despite being without their top scorer Clàudia Pina. Arsenal's visit to Camp Nou has also moved to Thursday 12 November.
  5. 05CultureLetting the Femení wear the Tyler shirt first is smartThe logo of GOLF WANG, the fashion brand founded by Tyler, The Creator, goes on the front of Barça's shirt for the Clásico on 25 October. The Femení wear it a day earlier against Granada, and handing a routine league night the first look at the shirt is the smartest part of the plan.

La Liga17 October 2026

VenueEstadio de La Cartuja, Sevilla

Five goals from five different scorers, including Rodri's first for the club, made it nine league wins from nine. Betis scored both of theirs before the red card, and Gabriel Jesus and Eric García went off injured.

Champions LeagueUp next

Paris Saint-Germain

20 October 2026, 21:00

VenueParc des Princes, Paris

Whether Flick starts Raphinha in Paris or rests him for the Clásico at Camp Nou five days later, and whether Barça can avoid conceding first for a fourth time this season.

Liga F18 October 2026

VenueEstadio Izan, Zubieta

Barça scored after 55 seconds and trailed by half-time to goals from Real Sociedad's Cecilia Marcos and Ainhoa Marín. A late penalty was overturned on review, and the first league defeat of the season leaves the Femení two points ahead of Real Madrid.

Liga FUp next

Granada

24 October 2026, 20:30

VenueEstadi Johan Cruyff

How the Femení answer their first league defeat against Granada, in the Clásico shirt for the first time, with the Danish club HB Køge away five days later.

Segunda Federación17 October 2026

VenueEstadi Johan Cruyff

Hamza Abdelkarim scored a penalty in the sixth minute of a debut for the reserve side, and Pedro Rodríguez added the second. That keeps the side coached by Juliano Belletti, a former Barça full-back, top of their group.

The Temperature

Supporters are celebrating Lamine Yamal's opener at Betis, and the Ballon d'Or talk has only grown louder. The worry is at the back, where Eric García's late injury has many calling for a defender in January and some joking that Frenkie de Jong will play there in Paris. Most think VAR was right to cancel Betis's long-range goal for handball, and few feel sorry for Betis after the red card.

Dispatch

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Screenprint-style illustration seen from inside the goal: through the net, a lone player in garnet-and-blue stripes leans against the post with arms folded, while the ball sits in the corner of the net on a mustard-yellow pitch.Eight from eight without RaphinhaNo. 8 · 11 October 2026Seen from behind the goal through the net at night, seven balls lie in a row at the bottom of the net while small players in garnet-and-blue stripes walk back to the centre circle under floodlights.Seven goals at Camp NouNo. 7 · 4 October 2026Anonymous players in varied plain kits crisscross a sunlit pitch along branching passing routes.The week travelled wellNo. 6 · 27 September 2026